In a green-white-chequered finish, Smith drove into the back of the #54 Joes Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra of Taylor Gray and took him out of contention.
Smith was also mired in the pile-up that ultimately ended with Austin Hill slipping through the carnage to win in the #21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro.
Social media lit up in the aftermath of the crash, with the likes of NASCAR legends Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin, and more calling for penalties.
On Wednesday, NASCAR confirmed it had penalised the #8 JR Motorsports driver financially. On top of that, Smith was docked 50 championship points.
Immediately after the incident, Smith said he was “not proud” of the move but said Gray would have done the same.
Smith and Gray were seen in a verbal altercation post-race, which stopped short of turning physical after the pair were restrained by NASCAR officials.
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“Absolutely it was egregious,” he said.
“I’m not proud of that but if the roles were reversed, he would have done the same thing. He’s got no respect for me.
“I didn’t move him those first restarts and he was flipping me off under the red flag, swerving at me.
“It’s definitely uncalled for and I’m not proud of it but he would have done the exact same thing, and that’s what I told him.”
Sammy Smith SLAMS into Taylor Gray going into the final corner and Austin Hill wins at Martinsville.
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— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) March 30, 2025
Xfinity Series managing director Eric Peterson said Smith’s move crossed the line.
“We want to see really hard racing and door-to-door racing, and contact is certainly a part of the sport and part of the sport at Martinsville Speedway,” said Peterson.
“We felt like after looking at all the facts, all the video, the team audio, SMT data and all the tools, we have to work with and review an incident like that.
“Unfortunately, what Sammy did was over the line and something that we feel like we had to react to.
“We would prefer to leave it in the driver’s hands but in this case, it wasn’t really a racing move and we reacted to it as such.”
Shifting from frustration isn’t easy but it’s necessary to make next time better than the last. ➡️
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Gray didn’t get off scot-free, however. A separate incident, unsighted by cameras, was penalised by NASCAR.
Gray and Jeb Burton were each fined AUD $8000 (USD $5000) for an incident at the infield care centre.
“Taylor and Jeb were in the care centre post-race and there was some behavior that (NASCAR officials) felt stepped over the line as far as interrupting a medical situation,” said Mike Forde, NASCAR’s managing director of racing communications.
“The care centre is almost an on-site hospital, so the drivers and any competitor that enters that area, there should be a sense of decorum there.”
The NASCAR Xfinity Series continues on April 6 at Darlington Raceway.
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